Laundry bag



April 10, 1945. l.. vADNAls 2,373,209

l LAUNDRY BAG Filed Aug. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l,

7///// V/l//l/l//l 33 zz g2 31 3'? 4V ATTORNEY April 10, 1945.4 c. L.. vADNAxls 2,373,209

LAUNDRY BAG Filed Aug. 2, 1941 Z Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 10, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAUNDRY'BAGJ charles L. vaanais, si. Paul, Minn. Y nppiicaiion August 2, 194.1, serial No.. 405,180

(ci. `15o-'vi' 3 Claims.

lvlyinvention relates to an improvement. in laundry bags, wherein it isk desired to providev e. container for Clothes being washed which will effectively retain the clothes and which will allow the clothes contained to be` thoroughly cleaned.

' In laundering clothes of various sorts, it has become common practice to envelope the clothes within a bag or sack. These bags `or sacks arev ordinarily formed 0f.cloth mesh material which will retain the clothes. and 'which will permit soap and water or other cleaning materials to. cleanse the articles contained` therein. The bags are usually* closed by a safety pin bearing akey or numbery or a similar device which provides a means of identifying the clothes being washed.

4Such cloth bags have the disadvantages of re` quiring replacement at frequent intervals due to the rather fragile construction of the'bags or saclrs,` and due tothe deleterious elf-'ect of the scap'and cleansingl agents. It has been attempted to use containing sacks of rubber or similarma terial. In order to stand up under continued wear; such bags had to be made: of' heavy rubber. When the tops of suchV bags were gathered together' and closed by means of the usual'saiety pin, a closure of considerable bulk was provided. Furthermore, in gathering the upper end of the laundry bag together considerable space within the bag was sacrificed to provide an effective closure.

' It is the object of the present invention Ato prou vide a laundry bag equipped with a series of interlocking flaps which have `al tendency to inter i lock in actual use, and which when interlccked form an effective closure for the contents of the bag. This flap arrangement is usually combined with an auxiliary means of locking the aps from vrelative movement so that no article of clothing,

however small, can work through the closure.

An object ofthe present invention lies in the provision of a bag which may. ii desired, be closed by 'a single interlockingmeans which may be in the form of a safety pin, suc-h as is commonly used `in conjunction with cloth net bags. Such a bag has the advantage of requiring no new equipment in order to sort the laundry', and also has the advantage of requiring no new method of attachment. As a result, the persons used to handling cloth bags can quickly adapt themselves to the new type of construction without a lengthy training period and without special instruti'tion.4

A further purpose of the present invention resides in the provision of a bag formed of lrubber or similar material which embodies a pair of naps, .one of which is connected to one side of Ward the interior of theybag,` and the second of the flaps being attached to the opposite side Voi the bag at a, point spaced from the bag opening and with `itsv free edge facing toward the. exterior of the bag. These flaps interlockv so as4 to prevent any article of clothing `within the bag from passing'thrcugh the closure. An' auxiliary closing means preferablyY extends through these flaps' and through the sidesl of the bag to hold these parts. locked from relative movement.

"A, further featureof' the present invention lies in the provision of a` laundry bag having 'a perforated body which may be1 of considerable thickness/so that: `the side Walls of the` bag need not be bulgcd outwardly to an. unusualdegree when clothesv are. positioned Within the bag.' With pre! vlous forms of rubber laundry bags, the. sides ofthe. bag have been substantially hat and in contacting relation when the bag is empty. As a: result when-clothes are. placed within the bag, the walls must be forced outwardly, thus consid erably vchangii'ng'the shape of the bag and de forming the. bag whilev it is in use.

- A further feature" of the present invention lies in the provision of a bag having av body which is normally possessed' of spaced' side walls connected by ends of considerablewidth which terminate in apai-r of parallel and adjacent closed flaps. Thus thesclcsed portion of" the bag is possessed ol` elements which normally rest in contacting relation while the body ofthe bag is normally shaped to contain a considerable amount of clothing.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the` following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of my specification:

Figure, 1 is. a perspective view of the bag in use. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the top portion of the bag with the closure 'opened for insertion orremcval of the clothes.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View through the bag closure showing thefinterlocking ap arrange'- the regiy to extend with its free edge facing ie- 55- ment'.

`Figure 4 is ar section through'the' bag closure" taken `on a planeparallel with the edges ofthe bag opening.

Figure 5 is avertical section similar to Fig? ure 3, showing `the bag with the ilfaps'in open position.

Figure cis a'view simi-ier to Figure 3 illustrating opposed front and rear walls II and I2, and end l walls I3. The end walls are substantially parallel, and may be rounded to some extent acting to space the front and rear walls II and I2 sufficiently to permit the bag to contain a considerable amount of clothes without greatly deforming the bag. Tapered front and rear connecting portions I4 and I5 connect the parallel portions of the front and rear walls II and I2 to a pair of spaced parallel closure walls I6 and I1. These closure walls I6 and I1 are integrally connected at their ends I9 so that the material inserted or removed from the bag must pass between the closure walls I'B and I 1.

Connected to'the wall I 6 at 20 adjacent the free edge 2| of the closure wall I provide a pair of flaps 22. The flaps 22 are in reality a single flap having a central split 23 therein. The flaps 22 are secured at their ends 24 to the closure Wall I1, as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings.

A flap 25, as is secured along one edge at 26 to the wall I1 at a point substantially spaced from the free edge 21 thereof, and is designed to lie in overlapping relation with the flaps 22 when the bag is in closed position. As illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings, the flap 25 is secured at its ends 29 to the closure wall portion I6 of the bag. Thus the flap which is secured along f one edge to the closed wall I6 is secured at its ends to the closure wall I1, and the ap which is secured along one edge to the closure wall I1 is secured at its ends to the closure wall I6. As a result, they have a normal tendency to overlap and to lie in the overlapping relation illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.

In order to insert or remove articles from Within the bag, the flaps 22 may be pulled rfrom 'within the pocket 3l) provided between the flap 25 and the wall portion I1. When pulled out of normal position, as illustrated in Figure 2, clothes may be inserted or removed from the bag. As soon as it is desired to close the bag, however, it is only necessary to rearrange the aps to the overlapping relation illustrated in Figure 2. Obviously, even the smallest articles of clothing will be retained within the bag while the flaps are in the position illustrated in Figure 3.

In order to hold the various flaps in closed position, an auxiliary fastening means is provided. In the form of construction illustrated in Figures l through of the drawings, I provide aligned apertures in the closure portion of the bag to permit th'e safety pin B to be threaded therethrough. As best illustrated in Figures 2, 3, and 4, the closure wall portion I1 is provided with a pair of spaced apertures 3I. The flaps 22 are provided with an aperture 32. The flap is provided with a pair of spaced apertures 33 and the closure wall I6 is provided with spaced apertures 34. All of the apertures are aligned and when the flaps are in the overlapping relation illustrated in Figure 3, the pin portion of the safety pin B can be threaded through one aperture and out the other aperture to provide an effective bag closure. If it is so desired, the pin B may support a suitable key device of the type commonly used in sorting laundry.

Any or all of the apertures 3 rI, 32, 33 and 34 may be reinforced by suitable grommets or metal reinforcing members. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the closure Walls I6 and I1 are equipped with metal reinforcing grommets which extend substantially flush with the surfaces of the walls, and which act to prevent the pin B from tearing the bag adjacent the apertures. The bag body is perforated with openings 36 so as to permit a free flow of water and soap into and out of the bag. As will be noted in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings, the upper portion of the closure walls I6 and I1 are preferably thicker than the remainder of the Walls so as to provide a reinforcing for the bag closure.

In Figures 6 and '7 of the drawings, I disclose a similar construction in which the auxiliary fastening means comprises interlocking buttons which may take the place of the pin B. The bag C is similar to the bag A and includes closure walls 31 and 39 which are connected to tapering portions 40 and 4I of the bag C. The closure Wall 31 is provided with a ilap 4l] which is secured at 4I to the wall 31 along a line considerably spaced from the free edge 42 of the closure wall. The ends of the flap 40 are secured to the closure wall 39 in the manner illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings.

The wall 39 is provided with a closure flap 43 which is secured to the wall 39 at 44 adjacent the free edge 45 of the wall 39. The ends of the flap 43 may be secured to the closure Wall 31 in the manner illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings.

Aligned apertures 46 extend through the closure wall 31, the flap 43, and the flap 40. Buttons 41 are secured to the closure wall 39 and extend through the apertures 46. A rounded head 49 on each of the buttons 41 tends to spread the bag material adjacent the apertures 46 so as to permit entrance of the buttons 41. 'I'he bag material may also be exed to permit removal of these buttons.

A modied form of construction is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings. In this form of construction a pair of overlapping flaps are provided, but one of these iiaps is anchored along one side only, rather than along one side and opposed ends. As a result, this one flap may be entirely removed from the pocket formed between the other of the aps and its closure Wall.

With special reference to Figures 8 and 9, the bag D is similar in general shape to vthat illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. A pair of closure walls 50 and 5I are provided which are similar to the walls I6 and I1 of the bag A. A flap 52 is secured at its inner edge 53 to the closure Wall 50 at a point substantially spaced from the free edge 54 of the bag. The flap 52 is also preferably secured at its ends 55 to the connected ends 56 of the closure walls 50 and 5|. A pocket 51 is thus formed between the flap 52 and the closure wall 50 into which an interlocking flap 59 can extend.

The i'lap 59 is secured along one edge 69 to the closure wall 5I adjacent the free edge 6I of the closure wall. This flap may fold from the open position illustrated in Figure 9 to a closed position in which the cross section through the closure would be similar to the cross sections illustrated in Figures 3 and 6. Thus the two flaps 52 and 59 interlock and clothes contained within the bag cannot pass through the closure in closedy position thereof.

No particular auxiliary closing means is illustrated in conjunction with the modification illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, it being understood that aligned apertures may be provided through the flaps 52 and 59 as well as through the closed walls 50 and 5| in order that a pin such as B may be used as an auxiliary fastening means. Alternatively, however, buttons such as those illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 may be used with this type of closure, if it is so desired.

In Figure 10 of the drawings I disclose a modified form of opening reinforcing means. In this form of construction aligned apertures 62, 63, 64, and 65 are provided in the closure walls 66 and 61 and in the flaps 69 and 10. A reinforcing means is provided in any or all of these apertures. The reinforcing means comprises a. .ring of metal or other relative stiff material indicated by the numeral 7l,r and is provided With the encircling anchoring flange 12. The anchoring flange 12 is embedded within the Walls 66 and B1 or within the flap walls, if it is so desired, thus holding the metallic rings 'H in reinforcing position.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my laundry bagy and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A laundry bag comprising a bag body of flexible material having an .opening therein, a pair of flexible closure walls defining said opening, a flap secured to one closure wall along a line spaced from the free edge of the wall and secured at its ends to the other of said closure walls, a second flap secured to said other closure Wall adjacent the free edge thereof, and connected at its ends to said rst closure wall.

2. A laundry bag comprising a nexible body having an opening therein, a pair of exiblenormally fiat closure walls secured to said bagbody to denne said opening, a iiap secured along one edge to one closure wall along a line spaced substantially from the free edge of said closure wall and connected at its ends to the ends of said closure walls, a second divided flap secured to the other of said closure walls and designed to interlock between said first closure wall and said rst named flap, said divided ap being secured at its ends to the ends of said closure walls.

3. A laundry bag comprising `a flexible body having an opening therein, a pair of flexible normally at closure walls secured to said bag body to define said opening, a flap secured along one edge to one closure wall along a line spaced substantially from the free edge of said closure wall and connected at its ends to the ends pf said closure walls, a second flap secured to the other of said closure walls and designed to interlock between said iirst closure wall and said first named flap, said second ap being secured at its ends to the ends of said closure Walls, the ends of Said second flap being secured between the ends of the first named flap and the ends of said one closure Wall.

CHARLES L. VADNAIS. 

